Dream Like You'll Live Forever
by SnitchsLins
Summary: This has events and allusions from the Odyssey, but it isn't actually related to it. Odyssea tells her grandson, Alcinous, about her dream of being Valedictorian of her high school. She finds out her problems are nothing compared to Alcinous' trials.


This story was one that I had to write for my 9th grade Honors English class. The assignment was called a "Personal Odyssey" and basically all we had to do was find a dream or a goal that we wanted to achieve, no matter how unreachable and impossible it may be, and in our story we had to reach it.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
It was a bright sunny day in the middle of July. I sat on a rocking chair reading one of my favorite books when my grandson came into the house. They had just finished taking the dog for a walk and had decided to come in for a glass of water. They saw me sitting in my chair and just drifting off the face of the earth into space.  
  
"Grandma Odyssea!" He called to me from the kitchen. "What are you doing? Why are you just staring at the ceiling?" Little Alcinous said to me as he walked into the living room and hopped onto my lap.  
  
"Why Alcinous, I'm not staring at the ceiling at all." I replied to him. "I'm just thinking about something." It was true, I was thinking about something. But what was I thinking about? I was thinking about something that happened a long time ago, too long ago actually. It was a time that you probably weren't even born. It was when I was your age and that was a very long time ago.  
  
"What are you thinking about Grandma?" He asked me, his bright blue eyes looked up at me in admiration for he knew the accomplishments of my life. I remember telling his mother all about my dreams when I was in high school and I tried to lead her in every way that I could. I always told her this one thing: dream like you'll live forever, and she did. She is still dreaming although she is in her mid-thirties.  
  
"Alcinous, do you remember when ma told you about her high school years?" I asked; that one memory still stuck in my mind.  
  
"I think so, I'm not sure." His eyes were full of wonder as he gazed up at my old aged face.  
  
"Do you want Grandma to tell you a story, Alcinous?" I asked dumbly. Alcinous loved stories from anyone and everyone. He nodded his head in excitement as he bounced up and down on my lap. I smiled at him and took his little hands in mine. "Alcinous, did your mother tell you what I used to tell her when she was young?"  
  
He scratched his head in wonderment and thought. "No I don't think so. What did you tell her?"  
  
"I told her the exact same thing my mother and father told me when I was young. They told me to dream like I am going to live forever."  
  
"Did you do that?"  
  
"Yes Alcinous, I did. I dreamed as though I would live forever and I'm still dreaming. Dreaming so much can be good for you. Just know what you want and work hard for it. I'm going to tell you a story about one of the few dreams of mine that came true. Did you ever hear of the word 'valedictorian'?" I patted his head knowing full well that he had never heard of such a big word, after all, Alcinous was only seven years old. "Valedictorian is a very good honor. It means that you have the highest grade in your class when you graduate high school. You are looked up to by your entire class and you have to prepare a speech to present at graduation." I explained to him as he looked at me contently with those big sapphire eyes.  
  
"Was that your dream, Grandma Odyssea?"  
  
"Yes, it was my dream; it was the dream that came true? Do you want to know how it came true?" He smiled at me and nodded his head. "Well, it took a lot of hard work to achieve my dream. I remember it started when I was in ninth grade, or a freshman, as they called it. It wasn't all fun and games and it wasn't always easy. I always had parents that were there for me. My mother would read inspirational and motivational quotes from books and put them in my lunch pail everyday. She always knew exactly how I felt that day even if I don't even show it on my face. I would read them over lunch and that would just brighten up my day. If I had a big exam that day, she would put in little quotes that would say that I'll do fine because she believes in me and she is praying for me. My father also did things like that. You see, my dad wasn't the luckiest of people. Back when I was young not many people went to school like today. He only had an eighth grade education, but he was so smart. Both of my parents were so smart, but they never had the opportunity to go to college. He would sit me down and read me a passage of the bible every night, I didn't know why he did it then, but I understand now. He did it because he took great pride in religion and he took great pride in me. I guess by sharing something he takes so much pride in to another thing that he takes a lot of pride in really makes him feel good. I'm not exactly sure how I can explain it to you. But anyway, I remember one night I was studying for a French exam and the phone rang. It was my friend Lula and she wanted me to come over to her house for a party that night. I told her I had to study, but she would always tempt me more and more with every word she said. I was crushing on this boy that was a grade higher then I was, his name was Jorrie. Man, I was crushing big on him. She told me that he was going to be there too. I jumped at the opportunity but only to be stopped by my mother who told me again to keep believing in my dreams."  
  
"What did you do? Did you go, Grandma?"  
  
"No I didn't go. I told her the truth. I told her that I had to study for this big exam and that it was worth one quarter of our grade. I knew that if I would have gone to the party I wouldn't be home until all hours of the night. I would completely bomb the test if I stayed out and didn't study. She was mad at me, in fact she told me that she would never be my friend if I didn't go to the party. That's a lesson you must learn Alcinous. You have to know what you want and work hard for it, and if you want it bad enough, you'll get it. It takes a lot of hard work and sacrifice to achieve your goal, but once you do you feel great." I paused to relive the memories that have once passed. I saw everything in a flashback as it once had been. I saw everyone as they once were; they wore the same clothes, the very style of their hair, the words they said, the way they pronounced their words, I saw all of that in the back of my mind. The memories flowed through my mind at such great speed; I could not keep up with them.  
  
"Did any of your friends help you, Gram?" Alcinous asked me as he listened contently to my story.  
  
"Some did, Al. Some helped me with my studying and many of them even encouraged me. They were my encouragers. They always put me back on my feet when I needed them too. Whenever I was walking down a desolate path of darkness they would be my light and guide me back on to that long road of dreams. I remember those who helped me out quite clearly. They just shone so bright and I look up to them today. Of course, they are long gone by now, but I still remember everything about them, the way they helped me I cannot describe, but I know it and I see it in my mind this minute." I sighed remembering my friends of long ago. I knew that they had not forgotten me and still relive the memories as much as I do.  
  
"Then what happened?"  
  
I dug deep within my mind to pull out anything I could possibly remember from that long tear of memories that once were. It was hard to contract the bad memories because all the good memories flooded my mind. "There is one thing I do remember. I remember this one boy." My hand rested on my chin as I recalled the event. "Yes, his name escapes me at the moment, but I do remember him. Ah yes, Syris was his name. Oh yes, I remember him mostly because of his voice. He had a beautiful voice and wasn't afraid to show it off. He would sing non stop all day. Of what significance does he have with me? Well, Syris and I were once friends back in the day. We split apart after graduation of course, but I still remember him. He knew that I loved singing so much. When I was younger my mother took me to private singing lessons and I have been addicted ever since. I had recently quit the school choir because I wanted to double up in another class; it was a math class, I believe. Anyway, he tried to persuade me to rejoin chorus and also join another chorus that they had at the time, it was called Renaissance. He promised me that I would make it because I was a great singer, as he told me. I didn't think too much about the chorus idea, but I was a little leary about the whole Renaissance idea. You see, Renaissance is a great thing to have for vocal students who want to go into college to study music. I wasn't one of those people. Renaissance is a lot of work and it takes a lot of time, which I didn't have. They would practice every night from probably about 7 to 10 o'clock at night. I was already busy with track and work. I was already swamped as it was with homework and projects. I'll never forget what he did. Instead of just talking to me about the whole thing, he wrote a song just for me and sang it. He persuaded me by singing to me! It was a great and beautiful song! I was like an egg to his voice, when I heard it I just cracked and that's exactly what I did. I gave in to the whole idea and thus my day was completely filled. I still thought about my dream, but it seemed as though it was miles away instead of a year away. I'd get home from Renaissance practice at like 10 o'clock, usually skipping dinner, I'd run straight to my room to do as much as I could before I would just crash on my bed. I went to bed at probably 1 or 2 in the morning every night because I didn't have any time to do anything. That was probably my all time low! I didn't know what to do, I had to think of something or my dream will just vanish into thin air. I prayed for a miracle and a miracle happened. You probably wouldn't think that this was a miracle, but it certainly saved my butt from everything. I woke up one morning and I had no voice at all. I could talk, but I couldn't sing. I told the choral director about my problem and unfortunately I had to quit from all the activities that I was participating in. I quit chorus, Renaissance, and track. There were days that I just sat in my room and cried, because I was so mad that I had to quit. But, instead of spending my whole high school career feeling sorry for myself, I took advantage of the free time that I had. I spent even more time on school work and my grades rose over that time. By the time I graduated I was first in my class and crowned valedictorian. I remember that day so clearly also. I was practically crying when I walked up onto that stage and gave my speech. It was what I had worked for, for four long grueling years. I had studied and studied and studied and did more studying. I did everything I could and then some. It was what I had my mind set on for the longest time and I wanted to be all that I could and I was. It was just so wonderful to end the journey and finally achieve my dream. But the journey isn't over yet, life is your journey, it gives you opportunity after opportunity to dream and never stop dreaming. You live life to its fullest by dreaming non stop and believing in yourself, that's what I've done. I've lived my life and I'm still dreaming even though I don't have that much time left. I'm going to dream until my last day, and even until my last breath, and I encourage you, Alcinous, to do the same. I encourage you to never forget these words: dream like you'll live forever, and if you do that, you'll truly live up to your full potential." I wiped a tear from my eye as I recalled my past experiences to my seven year old grandson. I knew he wouldn't understand what I had told him, but he would some day. That is exactly what he did. I knew he had potential and I knew he was smart. He had listened to every single word that I had told him and practically memorized the whole story. He used my examples as inspiration and motivations through his hard times, remembering my times of hardship and strife.  
  
Now I sit in the bleachers of the Dover High School football stadium, where I had once graduated from. It all looked the same to me, except the school was rebuilt and just about everything has changed. Even though the school has gone through such drastic changes, I'll never forget the times that I've spent here. I'll never forget the times I've cried here, the times I've laughed here, the times I've been angry here, and the times that I've been frustrated and didn't know where to turn. As I wait for Alcinous to walk up to the podium I recall once again the memory of myself on that stage giving my speech. I just about drifted off back into space when my grandson took the podium. My hearing is very bad now and my memory has seemed to have gone astray, but there is one thing I can recall that he said. This very phrase brought a tear to my eye. He looked straight at me when he was up on that stage; he said to me, "Gramma Odyssea, I did it. I've dreamed like I'm going to live forever and I did it." I always knew he could do it if he wanted, but it was so hard for him. He always had so much trouble when he went through school. His mother told me all about the medical bills and the operations, the chemotherapy and the radiation treatment. He lived through the endless taunts about not having any hair, but he kept on. He kept on the road that led him to the only dream of his that came true. He finally achieved his life long goal, to become valedictorian. Alcinous is gone now, but his life will always be remembered in my mind and in my heart. I gave him a word of encouragement once and he then gave me a word of his own encouragement. He told me, "I know that you once told me about all your problems when you were in high school. Although you had so much trouble, I can assure my trouble is greater. Although I live everyday as though it was my last, I know that one day I'll reach and capture that one very star that I chose one night to wish upon." 


End file.
